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LANCASTER - It wasn't one individual's effort that stood out Thursday night but rather an entire team's.

After heading into halftime tied 0-0, Unioto's offense handled its business in the final 20 minutes while handing Lancaster a 3-0 loss on the Golden Gales' home field.

"It's all 11 players that are on the field who are key components to this team," Unioto coach Cara Rathkamp said. "Even our subs off the bench, they're coming together and it shows. We're just so proud of them."

In the first half, the Shermans (8-3) outshot Lancaster 16-2 but couldn't find the back of the net, much of that due to the excellent play of Golden Gales goalie Kayla Weaver.

But after dominating possession and displaying tight touches throughout the first 40-minute time frame, there was a feeling that the dam would break at any given moment.

"We faced some adversity earlier this season and whenever you can get over that, great things happen," Unioto coach Kendra Dalton said. "Better things are going to happen with these girls. They want to win. They have that fire in their eyes."

The Shermans broke the scoreless tie with 20:34 left in regulation on a corner kick, one where Maddie Gumm connected with Kylee Bethel, who ricocheted the ball off the goalpost and into the net.

Elayna Gunnoe then hit a streaking Jayla Campbell in the middle of the field, who maneuvered her way around a defender and sent a ball rocketing into the upper left, adding to the lead with 18:57 left.

"The girls are training hard, they're working hard and they're getting better each week," Rathkamp said. "We went into tonight confident. We believe that this team can go far in the tournament. They're confident in themselves and they have the right mentality."

Unioto's final goal came with 56 seconds left as senior Elena Duque sent a ball sailing into Weaver's hands off an assist from Maiju Lintulahti. Weaver, in goal, fumbled the kick and the ball fell to the ground and rolled past the goal line.

Shermans freshman goalie Sydney Free made 11 saves on the night, pitching her six shutout of the season — her third consecutive.

"Sydney has been a huge player for us," Rathkamp said. "She brings not only composure in the back but she has so much maturity as a freshman. She gets it. She sees the game and the players, they want to play with her."

The win over the Golden Gales (1-6-2) is a big one for Unioto, considering Lancaster's Division I grouping and Ohio Capital Conference ties.

"We're working hard during training and that's where you get better," Dalton said. "We have some young players but our freshmen show up day after day. I don't think we can say enough about them, all of them."

The Shermans will now look towards Tuesday, when they host Piketon as Lancaster tries to regroup Saturday, hosting Johnstown-Monroe.

Reach Derrick Webb at drwebb@chillicothegazette.com or at 740-773-9304. Follow him on Twitter at @dw1509 or on Instagram at @chilligazsports.